Infantry formations to be employed in C3 had a slight different TOE than
usual. Medium howitzers were left in Italy; mortars and AAA were doubled.

To save space on the landing craft, most of the vehicles were deleted. Each Div
had only 24 TL.37 4WD tractors (for the 75/18), 24 light trucks (for
artillery ammo) and 20+ motorbikes. All supplies were to be moved by hand,
for the duration of the battle.

The infantry Div. had two infantry Rgts, each of three infantry Bns, plus an
artillery Rgt.

Each infantry Bn had three infantry Coys (each with 12xLMG) and a MG Coy
(with 8xHMG and 18x45mm mortars).

Each infantry Rgt had a weapons Bn, with one cannon Coy (with 8x47/32) and
two mortars Coys (each with 9x81mm mortars).

The Div had a third independent weapons Bn, organized as the other two. The
47mm in this Bn was officially named "Anti-Tank guns", the other being
"Infantry cannons".

The divisional artillery Rgt had two artillery Grps, each of three Bty (each
with 4x75/18 T.M.) and a AAA Grp of two Btys (each with 8x20/65).

Yes the Superga division were an AS 42 (reinforced) division.....but like every Italian Regio Esercito unit TOE were lightly modified ...on the road....It's infantry regiments in Tunisia are organised
on AS42 type.

Administrator

Great info! Thanks! May I ask the source?
I assume the date is 8 of December, right?

It seems to confirm
Quote
Each infantry Rgt had a weapons Bn, with one cannon Coy (with 8x47/32) and
two mortars Coys (each with 9x81mm mortars).
but 92º seems to have an extra half a/t company (with no additional vehicles).

regards

-Nuno

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By Diciassette2000 Posted 13 May 2015 - 04:52 PM

SME book on 30.o Corpo d'armata Tunisia....the difference was for lost material ....but all the regiments were reformed on AS42 basis.........a very very hard question ...the animals ...perhaps remain in Italy????

All the best
Maurizio

-----------------

By Bob_Mackenzie Posted 13 May 2015 - 08:46 PM

Very interesting - thanks for taking the time to copy it out

I am somewhat by the list. I'm sure its an accurate list but as I understand AS.42 each company should have a number of 20mm or 25mm AT weapons. They appear missing from the list, perhaps there were shortages?. AS.42 companies did not have 45mm Mortars. So either they are regimental weapons or the 92nd has a somewhat hybrid organisation?

The force was reinforced by the 334th Recce Battalion (German) and at least
one company from the XVII carri, and the 67° btr 75/27 (I have never read of
a battery with this type of number, possibly GaF?). The 8° cp. bersaglieri
covered the right at Oued el Leben.

On the 3rd, the XVII btg. carabinieri and the XXII btg. bersaglieri were
dispatched, which reinforced the occupation of the Sened village. They
repulsed an attack on the 4th.

_____

First to address some points from the earlier posts. XV btg. carri belongs to L bta. speciale, not to Centauro. The btg. remained with the bta. until after the retreat to Enfidaville. As I posted earlier, some tanks from this battalion were present on 30 January-1 February at stazione Sened. So the source of the tanks are known, the actual numbers are not.

The 47/32 c.c. are part of the 92°regg. fanteria and also likely part of the III (Trento)/132° regg. c.c. as well. I don't have my other books here, so I can't check to see how the later btg. is organized.

30 January, Stazione Sened was occupied by II/ 92° fanteria (two companies), the 1°cp./10th Bersaglieri, the 1°cp. of the CCCXXX G.a.F., and some tanks from the XV battalion. I assume the 69° btr. is present as well. This unit was part of the garrison in January, and lost its guns on 1 February at that location. The battery likely returned to stazione Sened when it was recaptured by the Italians on 24 January. A single 88 was part of the garrison that was pushed out on 23 January. There is no indication that the weapon returned.

Village Sened (to the south) was occupied by the III (Trento)/132° regg. c.c. Likey a source of several 47/32 c.c.

As I understand the sequence of events.

The Americans advanced on the 30th and made contact at Stazione Sened and the vilage. They attacked on the 31st, but were repulsed. Bad reports arrived at 5°armata headquarters the night of the 31st. Orders were issued to fall back on Maknassy. General Imperiali intervened and stated the position was holding. Army rescinded the orders, but ordered some units to reinforce L bta. At some point based on these army orders, the 334th German Recce was integrated into the defense, while a company of the XVII carri moved to village Sened.

The Americans attacked again on the 1st of Feb. While not clear in the official, I believe that the 334th started to execute the retreat order (didn't get the word of the change?). This uncovered the position at Stazione Sened, which the Americans captured. The III (Trento) and a cp. carri was still holding the village of Sened, flanking the American position at the stazione. Other Allied attacks on the 1st and 2nd were repulsed. The 21st Panzer was moved to a position northeast of stazione Sened behind the Dj. Goubel.

L bta. was reinforced again by Centauro on 3 Feb. The XVII btg. carabinieri reinforced Imperiali to the east of the stazione, while the XXII btg. bersaglieri reinforced the village Sened.
Another Allied attack on the village was repulsed on 4 Feb. At the same time, General Calvi (Centauro) tried to get the 21st Panzer to attack the stazione from the north. It wasn't until the 7th that the L bta. reoccupied the stazione. No details are provided.

_____

I have done a little more research. Montanari confirms that a 75/27 battery was present on 1 Feb. This battery was without tractors, so was lost went the Axis retreated. The lack of vehicles also caused the loss of the greater portion of the Italian infantry. He also places the 334th Recce bn there as well at the start on 30 Jan. This makes better sense, especially as both books state the battalion was holding the key positions. I am assuming that part of the battalion was at Stazione di Sened, while the remainder likely reinforced on 31 Jan.

Montanari's account has the Italians and the 334th holding until about 1600 on the 1st. Then ten.col. Botigleri was informed by the commander of the 334th Recce group that he had been ordered to retire to Maknassy. The unit pulled out and the Americans attacked again at 1640. Without the weapons provided by the 334th, and the fact that had held the critical position, the defense collapsed. The Americans didn't follow-up.

The back story is that someone (it is not know whom), informed 5th armata that Stazione di Sened had been evacuated on 31 Jan. Reading the start of a large Allied attack, 5th armata began to build a defensive position around Maknassy. When General Sogno (commander of XXX corpo d'armata) received his orders, he reply that the enemy had been repulsed and L bta. still held Sened. Counter orders were issued to correct the changes, but either through error or disregard, the 334th executed the previous orders. It would be interesting to see what the German sources say about this action.

As you can see 1 & 2 Kp are cyclist, 3 is SP and 4 Kp is towed guns listed as "S" or schwere ie "heavy"

The 4 Kp guns may be PaK-40 but given the US forces captured two "French" 75mm they *might* be PaK-38/97 alternatively this may refer to the SPs in 3 Kp which are Marder I: http://www.feldgrau....+panzer#p230017

There are no AA guns intrinsic in the organisation so I'm wondering if the "AA platoon" mentioned is the same as the "AA platoon/21 Panzerdivision" also mentioned?

--------------

By Diciassette2000 Posted 15 May 2015 - 06:19 PM

Yes you are right....8th coy's part was detached to reinforce the 6th (infantry) coy
at this point (27/1/43) the 15th tank battalion dont have semoventi attached
the only unit to be at Sened(city)at 27/1/43 were the two platoons/III/132.o AT regiment (semoventi) the others unit are ALL at Sened station
yes 12 lmg in coy
i dont have the exact amount of guns
All the best
Maurizio

--------------

By Bob_Mackenzie
Posted 15 May 2015 - 07:51 PM

diciassette2000, on 15 May 2015 - 06:19 PM, said:
Yes you are right....8th coy's part was detached to reinforce the 6th (infantry) coy
at this point (27/1/43) the 15th tank battalion dont have semoventi attached
the only unit to be at Sened(city)at 27/1/43 were the two platoons/III/132.o AT regiment (semoventi) the others unit are ALL at Sened station
yes 12 lmg in coy
i dont have the exact amount of guns
All the best
Maurizio

As you can see 1 & 2 Kp are cyclist, 3 is SP and 4 Kp is towed guns listed as "S" or schwere ie "heavy"

The 4 Kp guns may be PaK-40 but given the US forces captured two "French" 75mm they *might* be PaK-38/97 alternatively this may refer to the SPs in 3 Kp which are Marder I: http://www.feldgrau....+panzer#p230017

There are no AA guns intrinsic in the organisation so I'm wondering if the "AA platoon" mentioned is the same as the "AA platoon/21 Panzerdivision" also mentioned?

--------------

By Diciassette2000 Posted 15 May 2015 - 06:19 PM

Yes you are right....8th coy's part was detached to reinforce the 6th (infantry) coy
at this point (27/1/43) the 15th tank battalion dont have semoventi attached
the only unit to be at Sened(city)at 27/1/43 were the two platoons/III/132.o AT regiment (semoventi) the others unit are ALL at Sened station
yes 12 lmg in coy
i dont have the exact amount of guns
All the best
Maurizio

--------------

By Bob_Mackenzie
Posted 15 May 2015 - 07:51 PM

Thank you - This info is more than I ever hoped for when I posed the question

I have been researching World War II OoBs and ToEs for about 40 years. My particular interest is in North Africa and Italy. I do unit organization research for Matrix Games, and in particular Gary Grigsby's War in the East, War in the West, and War in the East 2.0 (in development). I researched the Axis and Allied forces for the War in the West scenario "From Torch to Tunisia." The 92° Reggimento Fanteria was NOT organized along AS42 lines. The 1° Divisione Fanteria “Superga" had been trained and organized as a “Divisione Assalto,” and had a modified organization, for the planned invasion of Malta. This was the premier division in the Italian Army, at the time. Keep in mind that the individual squads and weapon systems shown are for a game system.

New Member

Montbrun....
Apart from the entire list of notable works that you mention, to which, however, I would add at least as many (I too am at least thirty years that I study organic compositions and Italian and foreign orders of battle concerning the 2nd World War) yours appears to be albeit just a purely academic thesis indeed if we want to see it in this respect not even absolutely right. It is indeed true that the Superga Division never became an As42 division on paper, and therefore its components did not even become one, but it is also true that in the Italian nomenclature of the Royal Army there was never an assault division. That diction derives from a distortion carried out by allied intelligence, which is moreover badly reported. The Superga as well as Friuli and Livorno, which together with La Spezia had to be employed on Malta, remained in fact registered for the Royal army as normal infantry divisions to which they were attacked for the elements that were normally related to corps units. armed to make them much more suited to the mision allocated to them. All this to say that on paper the division remained a division of infantry enhanced with a view to employment on Malta which never occurred. At that point it was hurriedly diverted to Tunisia. I repeat it is very true that NOT EVER turned into an AS but when it came to its place, the transformation took place in the field in the sense that its organic components were dismembered and used according to the canons that were at the moment the most popular in that war tetaro. Therefore ON THE FIELD both the counter-tank pieces and the mortars that the flamethrowers to the individual companies and dismembered were also operationally decentralized were the artillery and genius component to which on the field German and collaborationist components were added in uneven measure. If you have had access to war reports, you will find traces of them. However the fact remains that on paper your reasoning is perfect. As was the case for the La Spezia division, Superga never officially turned into AS42.
All the best
Maurizio

New Member

Montbrun....
Apart from the entire list of notable works that you mention, to which, however, I would add at least as many (I too am at least thirty years that I study organic compositions and Italian and foreign orders of battle concerning the 2nd World War) yours appears to be albeit just a purely academic thesis indeed if we want to see it in this respect not even absolutely right. It is indeed true that the Superga Division never became an As42 division on paper, and therefore its components did not even become one, but it is also true that in the Italian nomenclature of the Royal Army there was never an assault division. That diction derives from a distortion carried out by allied intelligence, which is moreover badly reported. The Superga as well as Friuli and Livorno, which together with La Spezia had to be employed on Malta, remained in fact registered for the Royal army as normal infantry divisions to which they were attacked for the elements that were normally related to corps units. armed to make them much more suited to the mision allocated to them. All this to say that on paper the division remained a division of infantry enhanced with a view to employment on Malta which never occurred. At that point it was hurriedly diverted to Tunisia. I repeat it is very true that NOT EVER turned into an AS but when it came to its place, the transformation took place in the field in the sense that its organic components were dismembered and used according to the canons that were at the moment the most popular in that war tetaro. Therefore ON THE FIELD both the counter-tank pieces and the mortars that the flamethrowers to the individual companies and dismembered were also operationally decentralized were the artillery and genius component to which on the field German and collaborationist components were added in uneven measure. If you have had access to war reports, you will find traces of them. However the fact remains that on paper your reasoning is perfect. As was the case for the La Spezia division, Superga never officially turned into AS42.
All the best
Maurizio

New Member

I went to the SME archive personally three or four times but due to work problems I can't go now. But I have a friend (Italian) who sometimes did it for me. Unfortunately, however, the Italian archives are bureaucratic at best and the time is getting longer in a significant way. Furthermore, many of the files, especially in the North African campaign, are often unavailable or strangely not visible to the public. If you have any specific requests I can try to see if you can get answers .....
All the best
Maurizio